The Blind Side Of Rand

After taking a break for a few days due to the new work schedule, I came across this piece from Bluegrass Politics that featured yet another comment about how Dr. Rand Paul still has little clue with the problems that plague the state that he is intent on representing in The US Senate.

Republican U.S. Senate nominee Rand Paul said he doesn’t think the drug problem in Eastern Kentucky is “a real pressing issue,” even though others have described substance abuse in the region as an epidemic.

Paul’s latest comment, made in late July while speaking to an Associated Press reporter, expands on his previously stated position in favor of cutting federal funding for undercover drug investigations and drug treatment programs. Many officials say both are badly needed in Appalachia, a hotbed for marijuana growers and drug dealers selling prescription pills and methamphetamine.

His Democratic opponent, Jack Conway, favors using federal money, as does the region’s Republican congressman, U.S. Rep. Harold Rogers of Somerset.

“I don’t think it’s a real pressing issue,” Paul told The Associated Press, suggesting that Eastern Kentucky voters are more concerned about fiscal and social issues.

Perhaps a review of Meth use from the National Drug Intelligence Center, a report that shows Meth lab creation in Kentucky soared in 2009, or even how Kentucky law enforcement and local media completely disagree with Paul's claims.

We are, however, dealing with the person that claimed that "accidents happen" when the Deep Water Horizon rig exploded and sank in the Gulf Of Mexico. Perhaps he thinks there is a "free market" response and solution to meth use and its ultimate consequences.

As a former Meth user myself, I can attest to the horrors and loses that occur once the person completely loses the ability to remove themselves from use. I was a lucky one, as I was able to quit with reasonable ease and had the support of friends and family. So, for Paul to make the complete absurd claim that Meth use isn't such a big deal is to be even more divorced from reality than I had originally thought.

I have to ask again - is Kentucky really willing to have this man as an elected representative?

An Accident Waiting To Happen

In the interest of full disclosure, I worked for a hydraulics and machining company for 5 years that exclusively serviced the mining industry in Western Kentucky, Southern Illinois, Southern Indiana, and Northern Alabama. I have intimate knowledge of how miners are treated, how management uses their workers, and how safety is often usurped in order for quota to be met and profitability to increase.

With that in mind, and with my proximity to the recent Dotiki Mine disaster this Spring, I am actually not surprised at what Rand Paul thinks about mine safety and the decisions workers make.

“The bottom line is: I’m not an expert, so don’t give me the power in Washington to be making rules,” Paul said at a recent campaign stop in response to questions about April’s deadly mining explosion in West Virginia…“You live here, and you have to work in the mines. You’d try to make good rules to protect your people here. If you don’t, I’m thinking that no one will apply for those jobs.”

The choice for many people in my region - Hopkins County, not 20 miles from the Dotiki Mine in Webster County - is often one of either "support your family with a fairly decent amount of money" or "work far too much for not enough money if you can find work".

Safety in this working environment is second to production, don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise. My friend Micheal Carter is dead now because of negligence of Alliance Coal, Dotiki management - and by extension - companies that provide substandard supplies and equipment in order to save money rather than lives.

Are Kentucky residents really so ignorant and blind to reality that they would elect this man?

If there is a God somewhere, I hope that he or she would not allow this to happen.

Cultivating A Lack Of Ideas

In which Rand Paul tries to upend Jack Conway with a tired and all too pointless conservative line as the two were debating in Kentucky in front of an audience of farmers.

The state has about 485,000 farm families, according to Mark Haney, president of the state Farm Bureau Federation, and in his opening remarks, Paul promised to "fight for the Kentucky farmer against an overzealous government."

Responding to a question moments later, Conway attacked.

"My opponent has stated unequivocally on the record that he wants to do away with the Agriculture Department and he wants to do away with farm subsidies" — positions that Paul denies holding.

Conway added that about 75 percent of farm bill funds that reach Kentucky are for nutrition programs such as federally subsidized school lunches and breakfasts that serve hundreds of thousands of children.

"Are we going to do away with that? Are we going to do away with that in these difficult economic times?" he said.

The rest, he said, give "farmers the assurance they can have a good season," and create a cushion against a devastating year.

But Paul said, "You can stand up here and pander and you can say we will give you what you want or you can acknowledge that our country has problems."

He added, "We are drowning in a sea of debt. And it's not whether you're for or against farmers. If you want to be for farmers, open up markets, Jack. But don't just say you're for farmers when the money is gone."

Having grown up on a family farm, I know that government programs that were available to us helped us through times of struggle and assisted in much of the success that we saw in the early to mid-80s. There was even a government program out there that we used that called for no crops to be grown on specific "set-aside" portions of land. That one I never understood, but that's for another time.

So Rand Paul's plan to bolster the agricultural sector of Kentucky is to "open markets"? Seriously, what does that even mean - this vague and utterly lazy concept of "free markets" in modern America?

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UPDATE

Irony is so delicious, isn't it.

Brainstem Removal

Michelle Malkin has recently ceded much of her blog space to conservative hack Doug Powers, and he keeps up the right-wing blatherings with a short piece and comment section about Ashley Judd that is long of sophistry and schoolyard rhetoric and predictably short on realistic assessment.

Last month, in a speech to the National Press Club, actress Ashley Judd took a break from taking on Sarah Palin and set her sights on business practices in her home state.

Judd referred to the mountain top removal of coal in Kentucky as “environmental genocide,” called the process “the state-sanctioned, federal government supported, coal industry operated, rape of Appalachia,” and said the miners should be retrained to take “better jobs” (unfortunately the “vacuous actor” career field is full up at the moment).

On Wednesday, the coal industry sponsored a golf tournament at StoneCrest Golf Course in Prestonsburg, Kentucky, and launched a return salvo by way of a poster displayed at the tourney:

Here's the poster being referenced:



And while equating showing your boobs on film with the ecologically dangerous practice of quite literally blowing the tops off of mountains isn't anywhere near a realistic comparison, it showcases exactly how conservatives refuse to take an honest look the issue at hand. To put it another way, it's easy for conservative men to make a sexist joke because they know they'll not be chastised for it.

There are three types of mines in Kentucky: Strip, Underground, and Mountaintop Removal. While the first is the less dangerous practice - though almost on an equal playing field in regards to environmental damage, the later has a rich and storied past of destroying ecosystems and poisoning the waters of the region.

If conservatives were as passionate about how the ecological rape of our lands - not just here in Kentucky, mind you - as they were about deficits and taxation, then perhaps Powers would exercise a little intellectual honesty and find out exactly why Ashley Judd is describing mountaintop removal as she does.

The Next Logical Step

In which Rand Paul speaks as a person who grew up with a life of privilege.



Considering that the average unemployment rate in Kentucky is still floating near 11%, I'm really thinking that Rand Paul is taking up the wrong position here. Then again, people in my community were actively praising Jim Bunning as a hero when he was blocking unemployment benefits earlier in the year.

This is a classic manifestation of the culture of privilege not caring about those within their community that are less fortunate. However, Rand Paul is a Kentucky implant, has not grown up here his entire life. That aside, there are plenty of conservatives that are lifelong Kentucky residents that are more than willing to take a metaphorical piss on their fellow residents due to conservative inaction that caused the economic meltdown. Dont' expect them to admit this though, as it would require them to blame the Bush administration that they unflinchingly backed.

Rand's new found hatred of the unemployed is another mark against him with many in Kentucky. Unfortunately, those voices will be consistently drowned out by the corporatist that fall into lockstep with the likes of BP.

Once again, November is going to be very interesting this year.

Some Thoughts For Your Morning

- If companies weren't so eager to waste money on people like Bristol Palin and instead help pump it back into the economy on projects that actually matter, I'm pretty sure our economy would be turning around a lot faster.

- Considering conservatives abject hatred and complete lack of scientific knowledge, when presented with climate data like this it wouldn't surprise me if they spent millions of dollars on trying to debunk it. After all, they have invested more time and funds than one might imagine in the "climategate" emails.

- It's precisely this type of intellectually dishonest reporting that causes conservatives to react the way they do. So, are people to "settle" for something that they don't love? Have we suddenly become a country that is no longer inclined to follow their passions?

- Living in a rabidly right-wing area of Kentucky, I am privy to discussions and rhetoric that I would most certainly distance myself from. The loudest of these shouts often comes from gun owners who believe that Obama is going to take away their firearms. And while non of this is grounded in any form of reality, I find it odd and a bit disconcerting that not enough people are challenging these falsifications.

- Once again, Shepard Smith proves that he has more intellectual honesty and spine than most anyone at Fox"News". And while he does kowtow to those "in power" at the network, I really think that he deserves to be in the employ of another network. But if that were to happen, Rupert would lose his only safe-card to allow him to use the "fair and balanced" meme.

Observations From The Corner

Yesterday afternoon, several dozen people ( all white and most above the age of 40 though I did see a few kids holding signs and looking rather puzzled as to what they were actually doing there ) gathered in an abandoned parking lot in downtown Madisonville, KY.

There were the obligatory "Get Your Hands Of My ____" signs and a few timid shouts at cars that honked their horns as they passed. Overall, the atmosphere felt a bit forced and lacking in the passion that one would think a Tea Bagger would have. In all, it wasn't really a "march" or a "protest", just people idly shuffling around.

The one thing that made the event almost worthless to capture on film, aside from the fact that no one wanted to appear on camera, was this extremely annoying band that played 70s standards at an almost ear piercing level. One had to wonder if the low turnout had anything to do with the heat emanating up from the concrete, the near inaccessible parking area, or the amateur-hour band that couldn't figure out how to turn down the treble.

I stayed about an hour and actually had a few revealing conversations. I say revealing because the overriding sentiment from the 6 or so that would actually speak to me was one of complete lack of ability to fact check everything they took in as truth. Each and every time one of them would repeat something that Glenn Beck or Sarah Palin or Rush Limbaugh had said about Obama, taxes, or government in general, I would ask them if they had verified these claims. I got more than a few odd and puzzled looks. This was usually followed up by "but they fact check these things before they say them". It was quite exasperating at times.

As I left, there was this woman that came up to me and asked if she could pray for me. Not being a particularly religious person to begin with, I asked why she thought I needed to be prayed for, to which she replied - with a particularly morbid grin - that Obama was "the anti-christ".

I had to make my exit as gracefully as possible, as I nearly burst into uncontrollable laughter at that point.

Gotta Love My State

Not only is this the type of predictably drunk behavior you would find in the backwards portions of Western Kentucky - the place I unfortunately call home - but does this really merit a highlighted headline in the Fox"Nation" Justice section?

A Kentucky woman was charged with assault after she allegedly squirted breast milk into the face of a deputy, sparking online debate Sunday in the local media.

Toni Tramel, 31, was arrested Thursday for public intoxication in Owensboro, WYMT-TV reported, but it is what she did next which has attracted headlines.

As Tramel changed into an inmate uniform, she squirted a stream of breast milk into the face of the female deputy watching over her.

A press release from the Daviess County, Kentucky, Detention Center, said that after the deputy decontaminated herself from the "bio-hazard", Tramel was charged with third degree assault.

We are all too familiar with Fox"News" and their penchant for "T&A" when it comes to not only reporting on stories, but the women that they employ.

The pic used in the website headline is most certainly not the woman in question. My guess is that a titty-pic of a drunken woman from Owensboro, Kentucky wouldn't test too well with the Fox"Nation" demographic.

That aside, I'm guessing that this piece was used to troll for comments from conservatives about either how women with small children in the modern age aren't fit for motherhood or that the media and liberal/progressive bloggers are going to label her a Tea Bagger. After cruising through the comments, I was pretty much spot on with that assertion.

Out Of Touch And Unhinged

I'm guessing someone just lost their re-election bid.

In an unusual display in the normally sleepy chamber, Bunning – without the support of GOP leadership – has blocked efforts to quickly approve a series of extensions to measures that would otherwise expire Sunday, including unemployment insurance and the Cobra program that allows people who lose their health benefits to continue getting coverage.

And that has led to a furious exchange on the floor, with Democrats attacking the senator, who has refused to relent on his objection, in unusually harsh terms.

In a colloquy with Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Sen. Jeff Merkley, a freshman Democrat from Oregon, was pleading for Bunning to drop his objection, when the Kentucky Republican got fed up.

“Tough s—t,” Bunning said as he was seated in the back row, overheard by the floor staff and others in attendance.

It's a pretty clear case that Bunning isn't familiar with the unemployment situation in Kentucky ( my state ) as it's pretty horrific in some counties. In Trigg County along, the unemployment rate is near 20%, one of the highest rates in the nation. So, for Bunning to essentially tell the people of Kentucky that lost their job "touugh shit", it paints a rather clear picture as to what is motivating these elected officials.

Bunning is having his moment in the sun now, and like his fellow obstructionists, he is going to ride this for as long as he can. But one has to wonder exactly what Bunning thinks he will gain from this little stunt? Even though Kentucky is a "Red" state, unemployment doesn't just affect the Democrats. I'm thinking his next townhall meeting here will be rather interesting, if he even has the sand to face his constituency now.

Elective Reasoning

Leave it to my state ( Kentucky ) to fall in line with the indoctrination stylings of Texas.

Senate Bill 142, sponsored by Sen. David Boswell, D-Owensboro, will now go to the full Senate as early as next week.

The bill calls for the Kentucky Board of Education to establish guidelines for an elective course on the Bible's literary structure and its influence on “literature, art, music, mores, oratory and public policy.”

The bill states that the course must follow all federal and state laws in “maintaining religious neutrality and accommodating the diverse religious views of students.”

While the Kentucky Senate believes that it can get away with teaching the Bible in schools because they are using the word "elective" in the language contained in the Bill, the problem is that this new curriculum is going to be used to essentially teach "life skills". How will this be taught and not preached then?

But then Radcliff Senator Elizabeth Tori made a very troubling statement that shows the her legislative stylings are likely motivated by mythical creatures from biblical text. At least that's what she thinks has happened here.

Sen. Elizabeth Tori, R-Radcliff, told co-sponsors Boswell and Sen. Julian Carroll, D-Frankfort, that “an angel was sent down on your shoulders” prompting “you to put this bill together.”

“I‘ve said for many years that until we put God back into our households, things in society will not change for the better,” Tori said. “Your bill is the first step to that change.”

I don't think there is s clearer violation of Church and State that can be noted.

The Voice From Western Kentucky

I've often said that I do feel ashamed of my state, of the bulk of it's people, of how things like racism, ignorance, misogyny, and voting Republican even if Satan were on the ticket are seen as "tradition". The Western portion of the state, where I reside, is a mixture of "moderate" conservatives, balls-to-the-wall-twitchy tea-baggers, and a limited number of honest voices that come from people who have the ability to think for themselves.

One of those voices, April form Paducah, made it onto Rush Limbaugh's radio program and he proved once again that no situation will prevent him from browbeating a woman:



This is how Rush operates: His opportunistic nature tells him that is someone somewhere uses racial animus and is called on the carpet because of it, he feels that he can do the same thing. The only difference is that he then excuses himself by saying he was illustrating what that person(s) said. It wasn't his words, he was using them as a signifier of the times.

Unfortunately, those of us that have the ability to see through such a transparent lie know that Limbaugh uses such rhetoric to reveal what he believes about Democrats, be they liberal or progressive. Sure, he was using language allegedly used by Harry Reid, but the context - something that he claims to fully understand - was in reference to Obama's plans for aid to Haiti and how that could - in Limbaugh's mind - make blacks in America see Obama. It's no longer about Obama, it's about all blacks in America. The context has shifted.

But back to April. It would seem that she is a frequent caller, as her initial statement reveals. The only problem is that she is quite uncomfortable confronting Rush. Perhaps this is due to her anger at what he said or that she simply has the words but is unsure on how to put them together. Given Limbaugh's rich and lustrous history of downgrading women, if a woman caller is granted the opportunity to be on his show they have to meet his standard or he will not only dismiss all that they have to say but turn their thoughts and opinions into a sexist joke, which is what he did to April.

The reality of this clip is this - Limbaugh has no sense of context, of what it means to live outside the confines of his Palm Beach studio, what it means to be black or a woman. The disaster in Haiti is programming gold for him. It's an opportunity to lambaste a troubled nation of people that are "beneath him". He most certainly discouraged donations. The caveat that he offered was simply put forward to paint the Obama administration in a negative light. That's all he knows how to do. Like all conservatives, he has no plan, no alternative, it's simply oppositional positioning. And that is why conservatives see him as one of the leaders of the party.

Think Progress has more.

Anti-Global-Warming Conservatives Should Move To Kentucky

Every time I hear someone like Sean Hannity laughing at the fact that there is a massive blizzard during the early weeks of winter, claiming that this is literally the death knell for all that claim there is global warming, I have to pause and give a chuckle myself. After all, it is this line of reactionary conservative speech that shows how ill-equipped these people are when it comes to dealing with science.

In it's most rudimentary styles, when something is heated, it takes on a new form. Water becomes steam and ice becomes water. In it's more complex styles, adding heat to various chemical compounds cause them to break into new compounds that are far and away from what they originally were. A new form may be perceptible to the human eye while there will be something else released.

Another way to look at this is how the common chemical compound Hydrogen can stand on it's own, can be part of water, or be part of a deadly explosive. This is where we lose the modern conservative. They think global warming means that it's going to be hot everywhere, that no cold is possible.

Living in Kentucky, there is a saying: If you don't like the weather, just wait a while. The origins of that is grounded in the fact that our weather patterns are more erratic than just about every other state in the Union. This has been seen more and more frequently in my lifetime.

Heavy snowstorms, as well as last years massive ice storm that crippled most of the state, are more frequent in the early days of winter, while blistering heat is more prevalent in the early weeks of summer. The later was seen as explicitly true in the later half of May and the early days of June in the consistent triple-digit heat that plagued my state.

The point is that conservatives are more than willing to ignore the radically shifting weather patterns and insist that they are well within the bounds of reality because they happen when they are allegedly meant to happen. But if Sean Hannity spent one year in Kentucky and studied the weather patterns as they relate to the remainder of the country, I'm sure that he might change his mind about global warming, though you wouldn't get him to admit it.

My Old Kentucky Home

Aside from the few bright spots within the boarders of the Bluegrass State, I am largely embarrassed to admit that I was born and raised in Kentucky. And while we are home to the most famous horse race in the world and what once was a giant amongst college basketball, the state is largely dominated by rural attitudes about race and politics.

So it's no surprise that teabaggers around here are full-tilt crazy. A small cell of the group that is now successfully fracturing the GOP invaded the offices of Republican Senator Jim Bunning and Think Progress was their to listen to their complaints:

In the conference room, the very first protester to speak said that if the country dissolved, he would move to the first state that seceded. After his speech, fellow protesters began giving their views about fascism, the President’s birth certificate, and ways to avoid paying taxes.

Make no mistake about it, when reactionary conservatives from Kentucky have a complaint about Obama, it's is most certainly based on race. But around here, conservatives don't see themselves as racists. They view it as a tradition, some bizarre time-honored school of thought that has to be instilled within the children of the state. In that regard, the statements from people like Janeane Garofalo that the "teaparties" are about racism are more accurate than the Kentucky participants are willing to admit.

It's a very peculiar state to live in while Obama is President. We've not only got racism, but we've got Mitch McConnell and potentially Rand Paul. The later is running for the Senate and is just as adle-brained as his father.

And while not everyone in the state espouses such ignorant and ill-conceived ideals as the teabaggers, it unfortunate that those voices of reason are too often drowned out by the shriek and cries of conservatives.

Celebrating A Suicide

I'm filing this one directly in the "I'm not buying it for a second" bin.

Conservatives are all in a collective, joyous, embrace now that Kentucky State Police are claiming that Bill Sparkman - a Kentucky State Census worker - committed suicide.

There's only one problem that I have with this - this doesn't add up.

Perhaps this is my jaded nature shining through, but think of the verified reports that came out after Sparkman's body was discovered in the Daniel Boone National Forest area: hands and feet bound AND "hanging" from a tree. The former wouldn't be possible if the later was done either before or after. It's impossible to be in that position unless someone else was there.

What really concerns me most about this is that the final report is exceedingly vague in presenting the "facts" surrounding the case. But the overriding factor within all this is that it's highly likely that KSP and the FBI were concerned with what would happen not only in Kentucky, but around the nation, should it be brought to light that this was a murder.

The life-insurance policy is the only component of this that does tend to lend a modest amount of credibility to the final reporting. Was this the sole piece of "evidence" that led investigative officials to rule suicide rather than murder? It's possible.

Another sickening aspect of this is conservatives are actually rejoicing over this man's suicide. Of course, this was initially cloaked in "concern" for the man's family, but now that they feel it is acceptable to use Sparkman's death as a new talking point, be prepared to deal with their idiocy for months to come.

Still, I'm not buying the final reporting - not one bit.

Some Thoughts For Your Day

- Oh, so now conservatives are interested in the death of census worker Sparkman. Apparently, after cobbling together several quotes from local law enforcement - which I should point out essentially state that nothing is being ruled out in the investigation - their own brand of speculation based on nothing of real merit, and even claiming that Eastern Kentucky is filled with nothing more than drug-addicted toss-pots, conservatives have essentially claimed that their inflammatory rhetoric can't be blamed.

- It seems that Sean Hannity is suddenly "concerned" with the water needs in Southern California. In a special edition of Hannity's America - a place I thankfully do not live - he had some protesters bussed in to some local farm where water is in very short supply and essentially blamed Barack Obama for the whole mess. Unfortunately, Hannity left out some key details in his "report".

- In another classic example of Glenn Beck's idiocy when it comes to The Constitution, he cites Article I, Section 9, Clause 1 to claim that "the founders" meant that there was a value to living in this country. I was going to wait to read this book, but it seems that it just might be the greatest piece of unintended comedic literature of the 21 century.

Seems That Michelle Bachman Got What She Wanted

The story of a Kentucky man, William E. Sparkman Jr., a census worker was found murdered this past week is quite troubling for me for multiple reasons. However, the context of his murder brings about very troubling questions, chief of which is how right-wing fear-mongering contributed to this senseless death.

The FBI is investigating the hanging death of a U.S. Census worker near a Kentucky cemetery, and a law enforcement official told The Associated Press the word 'fed" was scrawled on the dead man's chest.
The body of Bill Sparkman, a 51-year-old part-time Census field worker and occasional teacher, was found Sept. 12 in a remote patch of the Daniel Boone National Forest in rural southeast Kentucky. The Census has suspended door-to-door interviews in rural Clay County, where the body was found, pending the outcome of the investigation.

As a lifelong resident of Kentucky, I am not suprised at all by this turn of events. After the continuous and ill-conceived blatherings of the lunatic fringe began to dominate most political conversations that I heard and often found myself participating in ( as a voice that I had hoped would bring reason ) I started to tell myself that someone is going to die because of this. And I can say without equivocaiton that I am ashamed to call myself a Kentuckian. There are maybe two cities in this poor-excuse of a state that have even a shread of dignity left in them and I am some 3 hours away from them.

It will be interesting to see how this story is spun. I'll be following this until the murderer has been captured.

Nearly Half Of My State Must Be Idiots

The Lexington Herald Leader recently ran a story regarding a poll of Kentucky residents who were asked if they believed Obama was born in the US.

Despite evidence that President Barack Obama was born in Hawaii, only a slight majority of Kentuckians think the Democratic president was born in the United States, according to a new poll.

The survey, conducted by Research 2000 and released by the liberal publication Daily Kos, showed that 51 percent of Kentuckians said they think Obama was born in this country. Twenty percent said they think he was born elsewhere, and 29 percent said they weren't sure....Respondents were asked: "Do you believe that Barack Obama was born in the United States of America or not?"

Beliefs about Obama's birthplace are divided along racial and political lines.

While 94 percent of black respondents said they think Obama was born in the United States, only 45 percent of white respondents were certain that he was born here.

While this is not suprising, the fact that nearly half the state that I was born and raised in are so easily misled and apparently kowtow to the racist mindset makes me want to leave this place.

Daily Kos has more information showing what Kentucky residents think of Obama.

Sen. McConnell, Meet The Reality Of Kentucky

My hometown in Kentucky - Madisonville - seems to be stradling the ever-growing economic pit that seems to be opening up underneath everyone else.

Many people here work in the mining industry or in areas that service those.

However, we have job areas that are likely to be inpacted directly by the economy, and harshly.

Here is a video that show's just some of what is going on in other areas of Kentucky.



From Think Progress.

We Apologize For The Technical Difficulties

Due to the recent winter storm that blasted through Kentucky ( in which my county was one of the hardest hit ) I have been without power, heat, and a job for a week.

Thankfully, my employer is giving us a check for last week and we have generator power that has allowed me to return to work.

As for home, that's another story.

Trees down, minor house damage, lots of lost food, and it's still pretty cold.

I will hopefully be back to my regular schedule of posting in a few days.

I have been completely out of touch with the remainder of the world - save the few moments I have internet access ( like now ).

I am trying to comprehend the following:

Why do lunatic-fringe right-wing bloggers think they know everything about the "tax code" now?

Michelle Malkin is ranting about FEMA's 5-day delay to make it to Kentucky when she obviously knows nothing of Western Kentucky geography.

Are people really shocked that Micheal Phelps smokes the ganja?

Why has Kanye West not started complaining that he isn't on the initial BONNAROO line-up this year?

Are conservatives really thinking that Joe Wurzelbacher is someone to "consult"

Has Sarah Palin not figured out yet that she is a joke?

Do people read this at all?

Hope the rest of you are staying warm.

God, Kentucky, And Security.

Why is it that my homestate embarasses me more often that I care to admit?

Well, it's things like this that make me want to speak up:

An atheists-rights group is suing the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security because state law requires the agency to stress "dependence on Almighty God as being vital to the security of the Commonwealth."

That's right kids. If you worship Ragnarok, Manon, or the giant spagetti monster, and you live in Kentucky - then you are putting your state at risk of a terrorist attack.

The requirement to credit God for Kentucky's protection was tucked into 2006 homeland security legislation by state Rep. Tom Riner, D-Louisville, a Southern Baptist minister.

Leave it to a Southern Baptist preacher to sneak something in like this.

Unfortunately, the people against this legislation did go just a bit too far:

The plaintiffs ask for the homeland security law to be stripped of its references to God. They also ask for monetary damages, claiming to have suffered sleeping disorders and "mental pain and anguish."

You see, it's flippant expectations like this that gives suits - or complaints - like this almost no validity.

However, the final bit does ring true:

"Plaintiffs also suffer anxiety from the belief that the existence of these unconstitutional laws suggest that their very safety as residents of Kentucky may be in the hands of fanatics, traitors or fools," according to the suit.

Fanatics. Yes.

Traitors? Maybe.

Fools? An almost certainty.